Transmission path design apparatus, transmission network topology design method, and transmission path design program for designing a communication path topology optimized in view of reducing amount of equipment needed

Abstract

To easily design a communication path topology optimized in view of reducing the amount of equipment needed under the condition that availability against multiple failures in a network is maintained. A transmission path design apparatus ( 100 ) performs: a step (S 14 ) of extracting, from the multiple base stations, a first group of base stations whose number of communication-path routes connected is large, based on transmission network model initial data (D 0 ); a step (S 16 ) of extracting a first group of communication paths connecting the base stations in the first group; a step (S 16 ) of calculating a both-end path value (d_i,j) for each communication path in the first group; and steps (S 18 to S 24 ) of determining the communication path whose both-end path value satisfies a predetermined condition as a thinning-out target communication path, and generating output data Dy in which the thinning-out target communication path is reflected on the transmission network model initial data. The optimized output data (Dy) can be generated by extracting a deletable communication path in order from the model of the initial data (D 0 ).

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A transmission path design apparatus comprising:
 an initial data holding unit, implemented in one or more computers, that is configured to hold initial data of a transmission network model in which a plurality of base stations adjacent to each other in a transmission network having multiple base stations are connected by one or more communication paths that are configured in a mesh shape as a whole; 
 a model calculation unit, implemented in one or more computers, that is configured to:
 acquire initial data of a transmission network model held by the initial data holding unit, 
 extract, from the multiple base stations in the transmission network model, a first group of base stations each of which has a number of communication-path routes connected thereto greater than a specified value, 
 extract, from the one or more communication paths, a first group of communication paths each of which connects the base stations in the first group, 
 determine a first base station connected to a first end of each of the communication paths in the first group and a second base station connected to a second end of the each of the communication paths in the first group, 
 calculate a both-end path value based on a number of the communication-path routes of the first base station and a number of the communication-path routes of the second base station, 
 determine, in the first group of communication paths, the communication path whose both-end path value satisfies a predetermined condition as a thinning-out target communication path, and 
 generate output data in which the thinning-out target communication path is reflected on the initial data of the transmission network model; and 
 
 a data output unit that is configured to output data generated by the model calculation unit. 
 
     
     
       2. The transmission path design apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the model calculation unit is configured to:
 calculate the both-end path value as a product of the number of communication-path routes of the first base station and the number of communication-path routes of the second base station, 
 determine the thinning-out target communication path from the communication paths in the first group in descending order from the communication path with the largest both-end path value, and 
 repeat the determination of the thinning-out target communication path until a predetermined end condition is satisfied. 
 
     
     
       3. The transmission path design apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the model calculation unit is configured to:
 determine a plurality of segmenting lines each of which divides the whole transmission network model into two regions, 
 calculate the number of communication paths that each of the segmenting lines intersects as a number of cuts, 
 determine a minimum value of the number of cuts, and 
 determine whether the thinning-out target communication path satisfies a predetermined condition based on the minimum value of the number of cuts. 
 
     
     
       4. The transmission path design apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the model calculation unit is configured to:
 create a model of a regional transmission network including a plurality of regional base stations each of which accommodates traffic of multiple user terminals and a plurality of higher-order base stations each of which accommodates traffic of a plurality of regional base stations as a transmission network model and limits the minimum value of the number of cuts to two or more. 
 
     
     
       5. A transmission network topology design method comprising:
 acquiring initial data of a transmission network model in which a plurality of base stations adjacent to each other in a transmission network having multiple base stations are connected by communication paths that are configured in a mesh shape as a whole; 
 extracting a first group of base stations each of which has a number of communication-path routes connected thereto is greater than a specified value from the multiple base stations in the transmission network model; 
 extracting, from the one or more communication paths, a first group of communication paths each of which connects the base stations in the first group; 
 determining a first base station connected to a first end of each of the communication paths in the first group and a second base station connected to a second end of the each of the communication paths in the first group; 
 calculating a both-end path value based on a number of the communication-path routes of the first base station and a number of the communication-path routes of the second base station; 
 determining, in the first group of communication paths, the communication path whose both-end path value satisfies a predetermined condition as a thinning-out target communication path; and 
 generating output data in which the thinning-out target communication path is reflected on the initial data of the transmission network model. 
 
     
     
       6. The transmission network topology design method according to  claim 5 , comprising:
 calculating the both-end path value as a product of the number of communication-path routes of the first base station and the number of communication-path routes of the second base station; and 
 determining the thinning-out target communication path from the communication paths in the first group in descending order from the communication path with the largest both-end path value and repeating the determination of the thinning-out target communication path until a predetermined end condition is satisfied. 
 
     
     
       7. The transmission network topology design method according to  claim 6 , comprising:
 determining a plurality of segmenting lines each of which divides the whole transmission network model into two regions, 
 calculating the number of communication paths that each of the segmenting lines intersects as a number of cuts, 
 determining a minimum value of the number of cuts, and 
 determining whether the thinning-out target communication path satisfies a predetermined condition based on the minimum value of the number of cuts. 
 
     
     
       8. A non-transitory computer medium having stored thereon a transmission path design program causing a computer to perform operation comprising:
 acquiring initial data of a transmission network model in which a plurality of base stations adjacent to each other in a transmission network having multiple base stations are connected by communication paths that are configured in a mesh shape as a whole; 
 extracting a first group of base stations each of which has a number of communication-path routes connected thereto is greater than a specified value from the multiple base stations in the transmission network model; 
 extracting, from the one or more communication paths, a first group of communication paths each of which connects the base stations in the first group; 
 determining a first base station connected to a first end of each of the communication paths in the first group and a second base station connected to a second end of the each of the communication paths in the first group; 
 calculating a both-end path value based on a number of the communication-path routes of the first base station and a number of the communication-path routes of the second base station 
 determining, in the first group of communication paths, the communication path whose both-end path value satisfies a predetermined condition as a thinning-out target communication path; and 
 generating output data in which the thinning-out target communication path is reflected on the initial data of the transmission network model. 
 
     
     
       9. The non-transitory computer medium according to  claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 calculating the both-end path value as a product of the number of communication-path routes of the first base station and the number of communication-path routes of the second base station; and 
 determining the thinning-out target communication path from the communication paths in the first group in descending order from the communication path with the largest both-end path value and repeating the determination of the thinning-out target communication path until a predetermined end condition is satisfied. 
 
     
     
       10. The non-transitory computer medium according to  claim 9 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 determining a plurality of segmenting lines each of which divides the whole transmission network model into two regions; 
 calculating the number of communication paths that each of the segmenting lines intersects as a number of cuts; 
 determining a minimum value of the number of cuts; and 
 determining whether the thinning-out target communication path satisfies a predetermined condition based on the minimum value of the number of cuts.